ANSWER

The role of the BA should actually change very little between different software development methodologies, although the tools and techniques used by the BA can vary according to the needs and attributes of any given project or development lifecycle.

The core responsibilities of a BA on a software development project include requirements elicitation, requirements analysis and requirements management – regardless of the project methodology. The type and format of requirements documentation are just tools, and a good BA has a wide range of tools at his or her disposal.

Accurate and effective elicitation of requirements from stakeholders is one key part of the BA role on any software project. The BA is responsible for ensuring that requirements are clearly articulated, resolving inconsistencies and ambiguities, and synthesizing individual requirements into a unified solution. An Agile project may utilize specific tools and techniques for collecting and documenting requirements, but the elicitation role still exists on an Agile project as it does on any other project type.

Analysis of requirements is a second key part of the BA role on any software project. The BA is responsible for addressing gaps and conflicts within requirements, identifying and coordinating interdependencies and relationships between different requirements, and ensuring that requirements fit seamlessly together to produce the envisioned solution. This analysis role is equally applicable whether requirements are documented as user stories, use cases or a functional requirements document.

The third key part of the BA role on a software project is requirements management. The BA is responsible for ensuring that requirements remain linked to business value and business outcomes, tracing and overseeing requirements from initial elicitation through to final delivery, and preserving the integrity of the business solution from project start to finish. This role is necessary whether the project is Agile, iterative, waterfall or anything in between.

These tasks all require certain expertise, skills and techniques that have been developed, promoted and refined under the Business Analysis profession. Even if these tasks are assigned to any other project member from developer to product owner, that person is still fulfilling the Business Analyst role.

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Sandy Lambert
Business Architect
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